Govt forms panel to look into burial place for Christians

Kathmandu: Nepal government has formed a
committee to look into the demand for a designated burial
ground near the Pashupati temple area by the Christian
community.

Christians complain that they don`t have sufficient
designated place where they can bury their dead bodies. In
Nepal, where 80 per cent people are Hindus, most people
cremate their dead bodiesd.

The Ministry for Tourism, Culture and Parliamentary
Affairs have formed a committee led by Rishikesh Niraula to
investigate into the matter.

The committee will "study in detail" the demands put
forth by the Christian community and submit its
recommendations within one and a half month, said Niraula.
The committee includes officials from the home, land
reform and parliamentary affairs ministries and cultural
experts, he added.

Christians have been protesting since a ban was
imposed earlier this year on a traditional burial area next to
Kathmandu`s revered Hindu shrine Pashupati.

The committee has also asked the Christian activists
to halt their relay hunger strike, which they have been
continuing for more than two weeks.

On Monday, the Supreme Court is set to conduct hearing
in two separate writs filed by the Christians as well as a
Hindu activist regarding the matter.

In his petition Hindu activist Bharat Jungam has
demanded that the Christians should not be allowed to bury
their dead in the small forest near the Pashupati temple area.